


Stay with Me till the Break of Dawn

by trajektoria



Category: GreedFall (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 14:34:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20676986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trajektoria/pseuds/trajektoria
Summary: It’s time for our last farewell, my dear cousin.





	Stay with Me till the Break of Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this short story when I was about twenty hours into the game and I had my heart broken. This is my take on Constantin's disease and how it might have ended. 
> 
> Big thanks to [mango-parfait](http://mango-parfait.tumblr.com/) who beta'ed this story.
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated, let's cry together.

Some questions are asked not to be answered, but to break the heavy silence.

“How is he?” Armand de Sardet looked towards the closed door of his cousin’s bedroom. The palace was already like a grave, soundless and enveloped in torpor. Even the weather drowned in melancholy, the graphite clouds just seconds away from weeping with icy drizzle. Armand’s gaze slid back to Catasach. The healer had just returned from the chamber, another empty bowl of medicine in his hands. The layers of paint could conceal his expression, but they couldn’t hide the resignation in his eyes.

Armand’s heart shattered even before the words left Catasach’s lips.

“I am sorry, _on ol menawi_. You should say your goodbyes while you still can.”

Armand closed his eyes, hunching his shoulders, his hands balled into fists. He took a shaky breath and swallowed hard the sob starting deep in his throat. The pain he felt couldn’t have been worse if it was him who succumbed to the malichor. Up to this point he lived on a foolish hope, praying every day for more time, for a miracle, for good news. He’d travelled the Teer Fradee far and wide in search of a cure, he dealt with charlatans and shamans, traded favors, went to places no other _renaigse_ had ever seen. Determination and love propelled him forward through his darkest hours.

All in vain.

Constantin was dying. And Armand didn’t want to accept that. No.

Shaking his head, he moved forward, passing Catasach by, pretending not to notice the sympathy the man was offering. He opened the door and slipped inside, closing it quietly behind himself.

No source of light was present here aside from the window that bathed the room in gray stillness. The air reeked of herbs and illness, that unique scent of sweat and suffering. There he was, on the large bed. The emaciated figure among the silky sheets. Constantin. Not much was left of that young governor who brimmed with eagerness and a passion for life. His face was gaunt, covered in dark splotches, his fair hair matt and thinned out.

For a second – the worst second – Armand thought that it had happened already, but then Constantin parted his swollen eyelids. His drowsy gaze focused on him and the dulled-out eyes flashed with excitement one more time.

“Cousin!” His voice was barely louder than a gust of wind. “I’m so happy you came!”

Armand forced himself to smile. Briskly, he went across the room and perched at the edge of the bed. From underneath the sheets emerged Constantin’s bony hand. He took it at once, squeezing it. It was cold as if devoid of life.

Armand stared at the face he loved so much and couldn’t find the right words. They eluded him when confronted with the eternity. Constantin spoke instead.

“Catasach said that I’ll be dead before dawn.”

Armand recoiled, a pang of hurt piercing his heart like a dagger. If he hadn’t been holding Constantin’s hand, he’d rush out of the room and yell at the healer that he was wrong, that he had no idea what he was talking about.

“No, Constantin, everything will–”

“Armand.” Constantin smiled with a corner of his lips. The grimace so odd on his mask of deathly pallor. “I can feel it. It’s the end of the road for me. I had enough time to accept it.”

Armand caressed his hand with his thumb.

“Are you in pain?”

“No.” A soft sigh. “I don’t feel anything. Catasach gave me the strongest and most dangerous blends. No point in worrying about side effects now, I suppose.”

The reality of it all, of his life without his dearest cousin, came crashing down on Armand. Raw agony racked his insides, made him want to howl.

“Constantin…” He lowered his head, hot tears spilling from his eyes and dripping onto the pale hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I failed you. I-I…”

“Oh, Armand. Out of all the people in the world, you’re the only one who could never fail me.” It must have taken a lot of effort, but Constantin’s other hand covered his, the touch tender and loving. Seeing the love on his cousin’s face, only made him want to cry harder. “Please. I don’t want to see you sad. I don’t want our last hours together to be spent crying. Take my mind off it. Like that time when I sprained my ankle, falling off a fence. We were trying to sneak out of the palace to skip classes. Remember?”

Despite himself Armand chuckled. “I do. You wailed so hard all the dogs in the vicinity started barking.”

“I know! But you told me a story about a brave and handsome prince who was fearless and I got so into it that I stopped. Maybe you can tell me a story now too?”

Armand sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve, trying to get himself together for Constantin’s sake. Time for mourning would come later. 

“Very well. What story do you want to hear?”

“How about a story about my dear cousin and a certain attractive seafaring captain living happily ever after?”

Armand blinked, caught off guard.

“You know…?”

“Of course, I know. The whole city is buzzing with rumors.” Armand let out an embarrassed titter, but Constantin didn’t give him a chance to deny or defend himself. “He seems like a decent man. I’m happy that someone will be there to look after you when I’m gone. So… tell me about him. Vasco, is that right?”

How could Armand refuse him? So he let the story unfold, about how they met, the adventures they had, what brought them together. Armand felt almost like a teenager again on one of those nights when Constantin came to him and they talked for hours about their crushes, their feelings, not afraid to be honest and vulnerable. Constantin listened to him intently, often interjecting with a question, or teasing him a bit. It felt so normal, so natural, as if nothing bad was looming on the horizon, as if the ticking of a clock wasn’t counting down the seconds they had left. 

Gradually, Constantin fell silent, slowly fading away. He had no strength left to move his mouth, to keep his eyes open. At the break of dawn his chest heaved for the last time. No final words, no crying. Just fell asleep never to wake up again.

Armand kissed his forehead, staining it with bitter tears.

* * *

“You seem preoccupied, my tempest.”

Armand flinched, feeling Vasco’s hand on the small of his back. The Naut’s tattooed face showed concern.

“Memories. Just memories.” Armand leaned towards his lover, needing the steady comfort of his touch. He looked at the shores of Teer Fradee disappearing in the distance, consumed by mist. After Constantin’s passing, Armand had been offered to take his position of a governor. He refused, not able to stay on the island that had taken so much from him. The ship was sailing away, bringing him back to Sérène, and then wherever the winds would toss Vasco, as he never wanted to part from him. He couldn’t be alone. “I know I have left for good, but I feel that a part of my soul is still there.”

“I won’t tell you that the pain will disappear. But time will make it easier to carry. And I will help too, however I can.”

Armand turned to him, a sad smile playing on his lips. He welcomed a soft kiss colored with love and replied with a caress of Vasco’s cheek.

“Come. The sun is setting, it’s getting cold. I want to hold you till the break of dawn.”

“Tonight and for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Forever then.”

The kiss they shared tasted like a promise.


End file.
